No Arabic abstract
Numerical simulations are used in this work to investigate aspects of microstructure and microsegregation during rapid solidification of a Ni-based superalloy in a laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process. Thermal modeling by finite element analysis simulates the laser melt pool, with surface temperatures in agreement with in situ thermographic measurements on Inconel 625. Geometric and thermal features of the simulated melt pools are extracted and used in subsequent mesoscale simulations. Solidification in the melt pool is simulated on two length scales. For the multicomponent alloy Inconel 625, microsegregation between dendrite arms is calculated using the Scheil-Gulliver solidification model and DICTRA software. Phase-field simulations, using Ni-Nb as a binary analogue to Inconel 625, produced microstructures with primary cellular/dendritic arm spacings in agreement with measured spacings in experimentally observed microstructures and a lesser extent of microsegregation than predicted by DICTRA simulations. The composition profiles are used to compare thermodynamic driving forces for nucleation against experimentally observed precipitates identified by electron and X-ray diffraction analyses. Our analysis lists the precipitates that may form from FCC phase of enriched interdendritic compositions and compares these against experimentally observed phases from 1 h heat treatments at two temperatures: stress relief at 1143 K (870{deg}C) or homogenization at 1423 K (1150{deg}C).
During the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process, the built part undergoes multiple rapid heating-cooling cycles, leading to complex microstructures with nonuniform properties. In the present work, a computational framework, which weakly couples a finite element thermal model to a non-equilibrium PF model was developed to investigate the rapid solidification microstructure of a Ni-Nb alloy during L-PBF. The framework is utilized to predict the spatial variation of the morphology and size of cellular segregation structure as well as the microsegregation in single-track melt pool microstructures obtained under different process conditions. A solidification map demonstrating the variation of microstructural features as a function of the temperature gradient and growth rate is presented. A planar to cellular transition is predicted in the majority of keyhole mode melt pools, while a planar interface is predominant in conduction mode melt pools. The predicted morphology and size of the cellular segregation structure agrees well with experimental measurements.
To obtain comprehensive performance, heavy elements were added into superalloys for solid solution hardening. In this article, it is found by scanning transmission electron microscope observation that rather than distribute randomly heavy-atom columns prefer to align along <100> and <110> direction and form a short-range ordering with the heavy-element stripes 1-2 nm in length. Due to the strong bonding strength between the refractory elements and Ni atoms, this short-range ordering will be beneficial to the mechanical performances.
This work introduces an innovative parallel, fully-distributed finite element framework for growing geometries and its application to metal additive manufacturing. It is well-known that virtual part design and qualification in additive manufacturing requires highly-accurate multiscale and multiphysics analyses. Only high performance computing tools are able to handle such complexity in time frames compatible with time-to-market. However, efficiency, without loss of accuracy, has rarely held the centre stage in the numerical community. Here, in contrast, the framework is designed to adequately exploit the resources of high-end distributed-memory machines. It is grounded on three building blocks: (1) Hierarchical adaptive mesh refinement with octree-based meshes; (2) a parallel strategy to model the growth of the geometry; (3) state-of-the-art parallel iterative linear solvers. Computational experiments consider the heat transfer analysis at the part scale of the printing process by powder-bed technologies. After verification against a 3D benchmark, a strong-scaling analysis assesses performance and identifies major sources of parallel overhead. A third numerical example examines the efficiency and robustness of (2) in a curved 3D shape. Unprecedented parallelism and scalability were achieved in this work. Hence, this framework contributes to take on higher complexity and/or accuracy, not only of part-scale simulations of metal or polymer additive manufacturing, but also in welding, sedimentation, atherosclerosis, or any other physical problem where the physical domain of interest grows in time.
The future of space exploration missions will rely on technologies increasing their endurance and self-sufficiency, including for manufacturing objects on-demand. We propose a process for handling and additively manufacturing powders that functions independently of the gravitational environment and with no restriction on feedstock powder flowability. Based on a specific sequence of boundary loads applied to the granular packing, powder is transported to the printing zone, homogenized and put under compression to increase the density of the final part. The powder deposition process is validated by simulations that show the homogeneity and density of deposition to be insensitive to gravity and cohesion forces within the DEM model. We further provide an experimental proof of concept of the process by successfully 3D printing parts on-ground and in weightlessness, on parabolic flight. Powders exhibiting high and low flowability are used as model feedstock material to demonstrate the versatility of the process, opening the way for additive manufacturing of recycled material.
Isotropic bonded magnets with a high loading fraction of 70 vol.% Nd-Fe-B are fabricated via an extrusion-based additive manufacturing, or 3D printing system that enables rapid production of large parts for the first time. The density of the printed magnet is 5.15 g/cm3. The room temperature magnetic properties are: intrinsic coercivity Hci = 8.9 kOe (708.2 kA/m), remanence Br = 5.8 kG (0.58 Tesla), and energy product (BH)max = 7.3 MGOe (58.1 kJ/m3). The as-printed magnets are then coated with two types of polymers, both of which improve the thermal stability at 127 {deg}C as revealed by flux aging loss measurements. Tensile tests performed at 25 {deg}C and 100 {deg}C show that the ultimate tensile stress (UTS) increases with increasing loading fraction of the magnet powder, and decreases with increasing temperature. AC magnetic susceptibility and resistivity measurements show that the 3D printed Nd-Fe-B bonded magnets exhibit extremely low eddy current loss and high resistivity. Finally, we show that through back electromotive force measurements that motors installed with 3D printed Nd-Fe-B magnets exhibit similar performance as compared to those installed with sintered ferrites.